Abetare (House 67, Rainbow St.)

Petrit Halilaj’s Abetare (House 67, Rainbow St.) is a sculpture reflecting on ideas of home and hope in the imaginations of children. Born in Kosovo in the 1980s, Halilaj directly witnessed the horrors of the war that led to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. At the height of this armed conflict, the International Institute played a significant role in welcoming displaced families to St. Louis. Amid ongoing immigration crisis, Halilaj continues his research into children’s drawings as a way to represent better days ahead. The artwork is inspired by drawings of homes, families, animals, skies, and newly imagined forms created by children in workshops at the International Institute and the Nahed Chapman New American Academy. Rendered without color and fabricated in iron, the forms evoke the thickness and immediacy of pencil lines on paper.

This project is supported by a grant from the Vilcek Foundation, and with support from William T. Kemper Foundation.